“We are truly global in every aspect” Dated: 1 June 2008
Confectionary is on an uptrend in Eastern Europe and stagnant in the West. Chocolate, especially products with added good-for-health ingredients, is in, as are cereal bars. High oil prices have given rise to new global investment dynamics, strengthening the financial and demand capacities of oil-exporting countries. Sharing these keynote observations, company president Friedbert Klefenz also noted that the East is now in the driver’s seat—developments in Eastern Europe and Asia are supporting world packaging growth. The Asia-Pacifi c region now accounts for 24 percent of global packaging demand, growing 7 to 10 percent each year.
Addressing the different service needs in Asia’s many markets is how Bosch Packaging is showing its commitment to the region, says senior vice-president Thomas Quante:
AFJ: What is Bosch’s strategy for growing and strengthening its market position in Asia?
In terms of internal growth, we have introduced new products into the market. We have developed new products catering to emerging markets like China, where we have a manufacturing facility in Hangzhou that caters to the Chinese territories, South-east Asia and also the world market.
In terms of regional growth, we have strengthened our administrative growth in South-east Asia. Our office in Singapore focuses on application engineering and managing our sales channels in SEA. From Singapore, we sell products made there as well as in Europe and China, to the rest of South-east Asia. Singapore acts as our customer base for the region. Nestlé and Kraft also have their factories in China and South-east Asia and we work with them.
AFJ: What is driving the trends in packaging demand today?
We see this as coming from two areas. First, with signifi cant GDP growth and wealth generation in China, demand for packaging will increase. A lot of products are also packed automatically in simple packages like pouches.
Next—and this is an interesting trend we observe in Asia—is that many local companies are demanding similar pack styles as those found in the US and Europe. Chinese players are traveling and observing packages in other parts of the world. Our customers want something that will reflect a premium packaged product. From simple pack styles like a pouch and snap bags to more advance ones such as a stand-up bag with closeable feature, such packs look nice and give an indication of a premium product.
AFJ: How is Bosch tapping on developments in emerging markets today?
We are a global company with over 30 sales locations now. We want to be closer to our customers in the emerging markets not only in sales and sales support, but also in applications and technological know-how. We also want to build up the engineering capabilities in emerging markets to suit their present needs. We recognize the significance of emerging markets not just as a territory but also as a future supply base for the EU and America.
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